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Magic Eli
ELI
"I'm sure she'll go with you Eli...I mean, why wouldn't she? She's Clare," I whispered nervously to myself, while toying with my cellphone in my shaking fingers. My feet moved swiftly over my apartment floor, while I paced the perimeter.
"Or maybe she'll reject me and tell me she hates me. Who knows what will really happen until I tell her," my lips moved quicker, my words were now becoming incomprehensible.
"Just remember Eli, YOLO!"
Jake's irritating voice swarmed into my thoughts about his blabbering "YOLO". Sometimes I felt like just taking a baseball bat, whacking him across the head with it, then going "YOLO" while I wipe off his blood.
My eyes widened at the feeling of my cellphone buzzing in my hand.
"Perhaps it's Clare," I glanced down at my phone, only to see in big bold black letters, "DOUCHEBAG WITH A SMALL PENIS".
"Oh Ted," I immediately declined the call, focusing on my question for Clare.
I mean, we've known each other for quite an extended time, and we seem to see eye to eye in several situations. She has called me one of her "best friends" several times before, along with the pictures she posts all over Facerange. We know a little bit about each other, and she trusts me, so why wouldn't she decline my offer?
"Just do it," I growled, flipping open my cellphone and dialing "1-4-3" which is the "speed dial" number I set Clare's phone to. I know it's corny, but one is my favorite number, four is the number of letters in her tattoo and three is her favorite number.
"Hello?"
Her voice sounded distant, and groggy, so my eyes gazed upon my clock, which read: 3:32am.
Oh shit.
"I-I'm sorry Clare, wrong number, bye-," before I could hand up, she sounded startled, "Oh no Eli, it's fine, I'm awake. What's wrong? Is everything alright? Was that Ted guy bothering you again?"
I smirked, "No it's just...Clare, I have a question to ask you."
"Yes?" her voice sounded happy, cheery almost, which was strange considering I just woke her up at three thirty in the morning.
"Will you go to meet my parents with me tomorrow afternoon?"
Eli and Clare walked side by side to-what looked like a fairly wealthy home-up to the front steps. Originally, Eli thought he'd be the one cowering behind Clare, debating nonsensically on whether he should go in or not.
But no, Clare was.
"E-Eli, I don't think...I don't think they're going to like me," she whispered nervously.
He smirked, "If I like you Clare, then they'll like you. They haven't seen me in a while though, so don't be surprised if Bullfrog pulls you into a bear hug, suffocates you, revives you then suffocates you in another bear hug."
"Bullfrog?" she asked, curiosity in her tone.
"Yeah, that's my...my dad's name," Eli lied, guilt flowing into his body.
By the sound of Eli's voice, Clare knew that something was off, but then again, did not want to disrespect him and ask him what was wrong. After all, Eli did drive Clare three hours away from Toronto for a reason, and she wasn't going to push him when he's accomplished so much.
"My mom's name is Cece, by the way," he lied again, except this time, no hesitation wrapped around the words.
It was becoming easier to lie to Clare, and that's what scared him the most.
"Come on Clare, don't worry so much...just be yourself, and they'll love you," Eli cooed, grasping Clare's hand in his lanky one, practically dragging her up the steps. He took a deep breath, before ringing the doorbell.
A giggle was heard from behind the door, before a woman revealed herself. To Clare, she'd assume she was about mid-fifties or sixty, but her died blonde hair with slight black roots proved her assumption. She was smiling widely, until she caught sight of Eli, who was looking down at the floor, too ashamed to look up at his adoptive mother.
"Oh Eli!" Clare awkwardly stepped away from the "mother-son" embrace, but smiled at the fact of how vulnerable Eli was in this current state. Tears were streaming down his face, for a reason Clare couldn't relate to. She never knew a day in her life where she was so happy to see her parents that she cried.
Ever.
"I haven't seen your handsome face in so long! Where have you been? Graduate school I assume? Or law school? No, you always loved writing...you must be here to tell me about your published book?" Eli's face hung heavily, pulling away from the hug as he shook his head, "I-I um...I'm not any of those things..."
"Oh, well that's okay too...we'll talk about this later, but for now, who's your friend?" Cece referred to Clare, as Eli gestured to his friend, "Cece, this is Clare...Clare meet Cece."
Clare found it quite strange that Eli called his parents by their actual names, but she wasn't here to judge. She smiled at the older woman, shaking her hand gently, a blush on her cheeks. Cece smiled, "Look how adorable you look Clare, I love your outfit. Could you please twirl a little for me?"
To say Clare found that order strange would be an understatement, but to impress Eli's parents, she slowly twirled in her sunflower dress. Cece smiled, opening up the door wider for the two to come in, "You're so beautiful Clare, Eli you picked a good one."
"Who's at the door Cece? I got the lubricant all-," Bullfrog immediately cut himself off, as Cece mumbled, "Ex-naye on the lubricant-aye."
An awkward silence surrounded the four, pulses rising and hearts racing. Surprisingly, Clare was the one to break it, as her fingertips grazed across the records on the shelves, obviously not being able to help herself, "Oh my gosh...you've got so many good ones...Aerosmith, Journey, Kiss, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Poison, and even Twisted Sister!"
Clare was engrossed by Bullfrog's collection, loving the feel of the case against her fingers. She felt as if she was in the presence of a higher God. She smiled awkwardly, seeing as though no one has responded, and held her hands at her waist.
"Sorry, I just, I get carried away easily when it comes to this kind of music," Clare whispered shyly, as Bullfrog charged down the steps, chucking the lubricant bottle for Eli to hold, as he wrapped his arms suffocatingly around Clare. She didn't say a word, too nervous to speak as Bullfrog hoisted her up in his arms, twirling her around, "Oh God Eli, thank you lord! Thank you lord for my son not bringing home a bimbo who listens to just beaver! Thank you!"
Bullfrog praised the musical heavens, as Cece giggled, "Alright Bullfrog that's enough, you're going to kill the girl."
Who was surprised the most, was Eli...he had no idea Clare liked this music, and discovering this for the first time was a shock. How was he supposed to confess to her about his lies, if she was keeping some secrets herself?
"Oh my gosh that was like hugging a bag of bones, does Eli feed you enough? Son-," Eli twitched, and Clare was the only one who noticed that the moment the innocent action was made, it was towards the word 'son'.
Son, a person that Eli would never truley be to Bullfrog.
"Oh my gosh, you're both so boney!" Bullfrog complained, pulling both Eli and Clare into an awkward embrace.
"Honey, let's go to the cluck factory for dinner! You guys like chicken? I know Eli used to love to eat all the time. Little sucker would sneak food up to his room every night," Cece grinned, looking at Clare, "It's true, we'd go shopping and come morning, nothing was in the fridge or cabinets."
Eli was overcome with a feeling of grief, remembering his old life. Everything was so simple back then. All he would do was get good grades, stay up late writing fanfiction and eating, always dreaming of growing up so he could grow out of his awkward stage.
But now, Eli realized that he wished his life away, and wanted nothing more than to go back to those nights at two in the morning, slumped over his laptop.
"Well, enough about Eli, they'll be plenty of time to embarrass him at the cluckidey cluck cluck factory!"
CLARE
I glanced over at Eli, and although I didn't want to confront him about this, it needed to happen soon, or we'd both fall apart. I watched him through the entire meal, just picking at his food, barely swallowing or placing the "chewed" food beneath his lips and spitting it into his water.
Bullfrog and Cece were so engrossed in their meals and talking, that they haven't noticed Eli was barely eating. He's my best friend, and I wasn't going to let him fade away on me.
"Well that was a good dinner, right boy?" Bullfrog asked Eli, but I smiled for him, agreeing, "Yes, thank you Mr. Goldsworthy, this was a treat."
"Yeah, it was," Eli spoke with no emotion in his tone, as he pushed the chair out, standing up, "But Clare has to get home, she's got laundry to fold and such. Sorry Bullfrog, Cece, but we have to go."
Eli gripped onto my hand, making a run for the door as I waved goodbye to his parents from afar. The moment we approached his car, Eli got into the driver's seat, and sighed, "I need you to turn away for two minutes."
"What are you talking about Eli? You were acting so weird at dinner. It's just- I know we're not a friendship based on pressuring each other, but I feel like you need the push Eli," I pleaded, just wanting to know if my best friend was okay. He was the only person I cared deeply about, aside of Bianca, Fiona, or Imogen.
"I never pushed you! Did I?" Eli shouted at me, for the first time ever.
His eyes were bulged, practically hanging out of the sockets before me. The veins in his forehead were sticking out, as I choked out, "N-No."
"When I found you lying on the goddamn floor in the dark, did I fucking push you? DID I?" He screamed, scaring me, chills running up and down my spine faster than air spreading.
"DID I EVER PUSH YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR LIFE? YOUR PAST? YOUR PRESENT? DID I-," I cut him off, raising my voice,"No, you didn't, okay? Do you get a sick pleasure out of yelling at me? You want to know something about my past, fine Eli, you're getting what you wanted this whole time."
Eli had tears in his eyes, but the ticking time bomb in my body had already exploded, "For seven years of my goddamn life I was yelled at and pushed around! I was stomped on, hit, abused and neglected! I couldn't hug my best friends without pushing them away for a year! I couldn't stand the feeling because it would constantly remind me of him! I can't stand the fact you think you're the only one hurting, so pull your head out of your ass and realize what you're doing to the person right in front of you!"
He was silent.
Yelling was never supposed to be an outlet, I always promised myself I would never raise my voice again after what happened with Fitz...but now, as the car becomes eerily quiet, I begin to worry.
I don't want to lose him.
"I'm sorry-," he laughed, "Don't apologize Clare, you have nothing to apologize for. I do."
My body faced him worriedly, as he traced the bones portruding through his fingers, "I've lied to you...about almost everything that's ever slipped through my lips."
"What?"
"I'm not this great guy you think I am," he whispered, "I'm nothing. I'm a worthless, selfish, disgusting human being."
"No you're-," his lips curled into a devious smile, as he turned to me, "YES I AM! DON'T LIE TO ME!"
"I'm not lyi-," he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel, before screaming, "I CAN'T STAND TO LOOK AT ANOTHER LIAR WHEN I'M A LIAR MYSELF! NOW GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY CAR, GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"
When I didn't respond, or move, he whimpered, "Please leave...and don't ever contact me again, ever."
"I'm not losing my best friend, Eli no," I begged, tears streaming down my face, "We can work this out...talk about it...just, anything but this. Please. I can't-I won't lose you."
"Trust me, your life will be better Clare...you'll move on, meet a nicer, better, stabler guy than me. You'll have sweet, innocent children, that won't look like me...you'll be famous, an author, the president...whatever you want to be Clare, you'll be it. Just please, do it without me," tears burned my cheeks, blurring my vision, "Eli, I'm not doing anything without you. No matter how hard you try, I'm not going anywhere."
I slid closer to him, wrapping my arms around him, as he rested his head on my shoulder. I stroked his locks through my fingers, while his tears slid down the gape of my skin near my chest. He sniffled, "I don't deserve this...I don't deserve you at all...you just-you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."
"I don't, but that's what makes it worthwhile."
END OF CHAPTER 12
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In the next chapter: Eli will be faced with doing the hardest thing he's ever had to do; tell the truth to the one he loves. Will Clare accept the overbearing amount of secrets he's hidden from her? Or will she deny him, no longer wanting to deal with a man who toyed with her mind and heart? ;)
Love you guys,
Cliffhanger Girl
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